The head of the Strong Lebanon bloc, MP Gebran Bassil, considered that "the only reason for the party's attendance is to avoid accumulating a municipal and Mukhtar's vacuum over a presidential and governmental vacuum."
He said, "we are against the customary legislation from the beginning, but if there is a compelling force and an extreme necessity, we attend, and that's what happened."
"We participated out of responsibility and to prevent the vacuum in the municipal and Mukhtar's positions. This vacuum cannot be practically filled by replacing the municipality with a qaimaqam, and it is impossible for anyone to replace the Mukhtars," Bassil added.
"As for the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), we are ready to go to the elections. We have started with the nominations within the party, but the government and the Interior Ministry are not ready. Also, it is clear that the Interior Minister speaks outside while remaining silent inside."